Related papers: Hubble-induced phase transitions: Walls are not fo…
We propose a new inflation model in which a gauge singlet inflaton turns into the Higgs condensate after inflation. The inflationary path is characterized by a moduli space of supersymmetric vacua spanned by the inflaton and Higgs field.…
We address the issue of fine-tuning of the initial field configuration that can lead to hybrid inflation in the context of global supersymmetry. This problem is generated by the difference between the energy scale at which the Universe…
The QCD axion cosmology depends crucially on whether the QCD axion is present during inflation or not. We point out that contrary to the standard criterion, the Peccei-Quinn (PQ) symmetry could remain unbroken during inflation, even when…
In 'hilltop inflation', inflation takes place when the inflaton field slowly rolls from close to a maximum of its potential (i.e. the 'hilltop') towards its minimum. When the inflaton potential is associated with a phase transition,…
We investigate loop corrections to the primordial fluctuations in the single-field inflationary paradigm from spectator fields that experience a smooth transition of their vacuum expectation values. We show that when the phase transition…
Heavy scalar fields can undergo an instability during inflation as a result of their kinetic couplings with the inflaton. This is known as the geometrical destabilization of inflation, as it relies on the effect of the negative curvature of…
Inflation due to a non-minimally coupled scalar field with a large non-minimal coupling, as first proposed by Salopek, Bardeen and Bond (SBB), is in good agreement with the observed value of the spectral index and constraints on the…
A scalar Higgs field can be repeatedly switched on and off when it couples to a classically oscillating scalar modulus field. The modulus flips the Higgs mass term between stable and tachyonic values. We study a cosmological scenario in…
We probe the cosmological consequences of a recently proposed class of solutions to the cosmological constant problem. In these models, the universe undergoes a long period of inflation followed by a contraction and a bounce that sets the…
Generically, the gravitational-wave or tensor-mode contribution to the primordial curvature spectrum of inflation is tiny if the field-range of the inflaton is much smaller than the Planck scale. We show that this pessimistic conclusion is…
We present an inflationary universe model which utilizes two coupled real scalar fields. The inflation field $\phi$ experiences a first order phase transition and its potential dominates the energy density of the Universe during the…
We have proposed a new class of inflationary scenarios in which the first stage of expansion is driven by "old" false vacuum inflation. This ends by nucleation of a bubble, which then further inflates. Unlike the standard slow-roll…
We study the spectrum of cosmological fluctuations in scenarios such as Galilean Genesis in which a spectator scalar field acquires a scale-invariant spectrum of perturbations during an early phase which asymptotes in the far past to…
We investigate warm inflationary scenario in which the accelerated expansion of the early Universe is driven by chameleon-like scalar fields. Due to the non-minimal coupling between the scalar field and the matter sector, the…
We perform a combined perturbation and observational investigation of the scenario of non-minimal derivative coupling between a scalar field and curvature. First we extract the necessary condition that ensures the absence of instabilities,…
We present a model of inflation where the inflaton is accommodated as a phantom field which exhibits an initial transient pole behavior and then decays into a quintessence field which is responsible for a radiation era. We must stress that…
It is shown that the inflationary era in early universe is realized due to the effect of backreaction of quantized matter fields. In fact we start by quantizing a free scalar field in the Friedmann-Robertson-Walker space-time, and the field…
We prove that in the Hartle-Hawking approach to quantum cosmology the existence of an inflationary phase is a general property of minisuperspace models given by a closed Friedmann-Robertson-Walker universe containing a massless scalar field…
Cosmological $\alpha$-attractors stand out as particularly compelling models to describe inflation in the very early universe, naturally meeting tight observational bounds from cosmic microwave background (CMB) experiments. We investigate…
Future galaxy surveys promise to probe local primordial non-Gaussianity at unprecedented precision, $\sigma(f_{\rm NL}) \lesssim 1$. We study the implications for multifield inflation by considering spectator models, where inflation is…